Nuclear-powered aircraft
Flying machine that relies on thrust generated from nuclear energy
Nuclear-powered aircraft
A nuclear-powered aircraft is an aircraft whose power source is nuclear fission. Most designs use a nuclear reactor that heats compressed air inside a jet engine to provide thrust. Either a turbojet or a ramjet can be used, as with ordinary chemical propulsion. During the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union researched nuclear-powered bomber aircraft, the greater endurance of which could enhance nuclear deterrence, but neither country created any such operational aircraft. The advent of ICBMs and nuclear submarines in the 1960s greatly diminished the strategic advantage of such aircraft, and respective projects were canceled. Likewise, proposals for supersonic nuclear-powered cruise missiles such as Project Pluto were never implemented. However, Russia developed a subsonic nuclear-powered cruise missile beginning in the 2010s, the 9M730 Burevestnik, as a strategic deterrent. Nuclear aircraft have several inadequately solved design problems, such as the need for heavy shielding to...
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